best & last of the classic mercedes sedan

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

10/10

Value

10/10

Reliability

10/10

Quality

10/10

Performance

10/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

10/10

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"This is the sedan that became a classic because of the amazing construction and features that set the goal for all future mercedes to achieve. This is the last year that mercedes was truly the ultimate sedan and the one to aspire to one day own. Find one in excellent condition and you will not be dissapointed, you will be envied!"

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Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

9/10

Value

10/10

Reliability

8/10

Quality

10/10

Performance

8/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

9/10

Pros: "Sound System! Feeling ghetto fab when driving."

Cons: "Gas"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"This car caught my eye while driving by a used car lot in Spring 2014. Looked like it had been sitting for a while so I told the guy 'if it starts, I'm getting it.' It started and ran shockingly well. This was a 20 year old vehicle without a spot on the carpet, the leather in the rear appeared never sat upon. The paint was bright and clear with a perfect mirror finish, not a line or detail was irregular. When driving the first thing I noticed was the absence of the most minor squeak or rattle. This was a 20 year old car in a low rent used car lot in central Phoenix, I thought to myself there is something wrong here. Turns out the 'CARFAX' appeared to be scaring people away. One owner for like 17 years but 4 in the last 3 3 of which were dealers.
Seems there were a few electrical quirks in this highly engineered vehicle. Very small stuff the dealer was explaining away. The idea was to get an adult project that kept me out of trouble on weekends.
After much help from MB sites and owners narrowed the quirkiness to an overcharging situation above 14V when running. This like putting this car's early brain on Meth. The advice was to try replacing the voltage regulator first and I did. Took me 3 days but I did it. Turned the key after and Bingo no longer quirky.
You can ride low and slow or blow past all the Honda coupes that are trying to show off. A very fun car.
As of a month ago was contemplating selling due to premium gas at 3.80 and rising, now that its 2.30 and falling think Ill wait it out. These cars if for sale are usually 4-7K and a steal considering the orig. MSRP of 98,500. Honestly looks, runs and feels like a 20 month old car."

"THIS IS A VERY SMOOTH RIDE HAS PLENTY OF ROOM NOT SHURE WHY THEY CHANGED THE BODY STYLE STILL GETS 30MILES TO A GAL HWY 25 CITY CAR LOOKS LIKE IT JUST DROVE OFF LOT I LOVE IT WHEN YOU GET UP AND GO IT STILL WANTS TO SHOW OFF"

"The Mercedes W140 S-Class is the last car that Mercedes ever built where quality was paramount over cost. Everything is overengineered and beautifully executed. It's like driving a rolling bank vault. I'm on my second one. First one I bought new in 1995, this one I got pre-owned a few years ago.
Sure, there are newer cars today with more gadgets or modern conveniences, but very few can even come close to the driving experience of this car. Once you drive it, almost everything else feels like a step down -- and the cars that do equal it today cost several hundred thousand dollars.
The car is reliable in that it'll never leave you stranded, but you do need to keep up with the maintenance -- and that can get expensive, especially once they hit 100,000 miles and a lot of the secondary systems need to be refreshed. But if you're okay with proper maintenance, you'll be rewarded with one of the best cars ever made. It was designed to cover long distances at high speed in great comfort, and it manages that perfectly."

"Very spacious, last of the BIG Mercedes. It's like driving your living room, and has room for all your friends. Massive trunk, easily handles 4 golf bags. Although this model had the air conditioner problem (bad evaporators installed on the passenger side of the fire wall, required whole dash to be removed for repair) once that was fixed, pretty bullet proof."

"This car was the finest car ever developed by the German Automotive Company Mercedes. I have owned several of Mercedes in my life, this one is by far the best, nicest, most reliable, and most comfortable to drive. It was the Maybach of the 1990s. If you have the chance to own one someday, do yourself the favor and buy it. You will not be disappointed nor will the car ever leave you crying in the rain. She is a beast in the night and will devour any american made car in her path. I cannot say enough about what an enjoyment this car has been. I love her now and forever I will be a true blue fan of the W140."

"It is a fantastic car, but it has some of the inescapable W140 issues, being the headlight washing system doesn't work, the front interior fan doesn't work due to a bad resistor, and the self-closing trunk doesn't pull itself down anymore. But, it is absolutely the best driving large luxury car ever made, and still retains its comfortable ride. And the sheer attention to detail in this car is absolutely unbelieveable. Over all, I wouldn't trade this car for the world."

"Car came from Germany with Safety glass windows and body (Bullet-proof). I was told by previous owner that the car was used to drive some "important people" around in Germany.
This type of glass is very pricey to normally put in a vehicle like this."

this is a very strong and solid car .

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

9/10

Value

9/10

Reliability

9/10

Quality

8/10

Performance

9/10

Styling

8/10

Comfort

8/10

Pros: "ALREADY SAID"

Cons: "NO CUP HOLDERS / NO NAVIGATION SYSTEM"

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"I GOT VERY LUCKY WITH THIS CAR , ITS ORIGIN IS GERMANY AND BOUGHT THERE BY FIRST OWNER . I BOUGHT IT A FEW WEEKS AGO FOR 5,000 . THE BODY IS PERFECT AND PAINT IS AS GOOD AS NEW STILL ....INTERIOR LEATHER IS PERFECT CONDITION , NOT EVEN WORN ! ALL FEATURES OF CAR IN TACT AS WAS IN 1994 , I EVEN HAVE TINTED BULLETPROOF WINDOWS ALL THE WAY AROUND . SO COOL . LOL"

"The Merc S600 Coupe is a magic carpet. Pulls like a freight train, smooth as butter, silent like no other car is. The conveniences put other cars of the day, or even today, into a rather drab class. Even though it's 20 years old parts are readily available. While things do break over that time, the car, by and large, is really reliable. It's crazy to think that a $140k car could sell for such small money today. Not only is it a better ride than current Benzes, but better than any car you can name, Rolls included (gross HP notwithstanding, though with nearly 400HP it's no slouch). Fuel economy, never a strong point for V-12s, is a reasonable 20 MPG on the highway and 15 in town (real-world driving). It's cheap to do an electronics upgrade on this delightful machine, and with it, there's nothing better featured or experienced. Everyone should have a V-12 once in a lifetime, and this is the one to have."

Best friend of car enthusiasts

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

10/10

Value

10/10

Reliability

10/10

Quality

10/10

Performance

10/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

10/10

Cons: "nothing with a capital n."

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 10

"Great vehicle, comfort, and reliability. Smooth in all areas of use and drive-ability. Drive one of these and know coolness. My favorite car ever! Easy to work on also, come on, think...most times rich people own these, car mechs can make a killing on fixing them because they were made for mechs to fix quick and easy, and, for them, to be very profitable."

"I really love this car. It rides and drives like a dream no matter the weather and gets great gas mileage, approx. 26 miles per gallon! The sound system is a Bose and wonderful too. Unfortunately it's become our third car with only 2 drivers and sits more than it's driven now, I will reluctantly sell it."

"If it only had a more powerful engine..... Better than the old 240 or the 80th model 300sd BUT still WAY underpowered. Besides that a great car to drive and very reliable. Purchased it new in 1993 and 207000 miles later still running great. Besides a new turbo at 190k miles a new cam at 204k and the usual vacuum issues, no problems at all. Love my car. Great fuel mileage on the interstate, not so great in town. But at almost 5000lbs it's no surprise. Getting almost 700 miles out of one tank on the highway at 70+ mph."

"Having owned an s320 (1993) decided to try an s500/s600. Found an s500 with 39700 original miles for $2500. An offer was made and nobody else did so here it is. Advantages over the s320 are Acceleration and having a 1st gear when shifter is in "B". For the rest, the s320 is easier to maintain and has less problematic options that may go crazy in the future, like hydraulic rear suspension, more heat in the engine compartment (can't imagine the v12), rear reclining seat, rear "electric" headrests and so on. If you like the shape, an s320 is the basic option. If you like power (and less mpg) then an s500 or s600 are the options. V12 is even more expensive to maintain as it is basically to 6 cyl engines mated. So almost everything will be doubled when maintaining it. If you want an s320 and need 1st gear (hills for example), get one 1997-1999. They have the "s/w" switch for Summer and Winter. Summer starts in 1st gear and Winter in 2nd gear. The s320's and s500's prior to 1997 (including the 420's) start in 2nd gear always unless you select "B" in the s500 (the s320 does not have that). Keep in mind this is a very safe car and that life and safety can not be measured in either MPG or dollars per month."

"This is my second Mercedes i owned. I bought it with 105k miles on it for $9k. Now i Have 140k in less than 3 years. I feel safe and secure in it. It has being very reliable even with the high mileage. Two of my ignition coil have gone bad but i bought each one one of them for a 100$. Dealer will charge you probably 800.00 or so to replace 1 or 1600.00 to replace all of them. my cost was 120.00 total for both. The reason is once i diagnosed the issue i was able to replace the parts my self. IT IS THE EASIEST ENGINE TO WORK ON. I did not get bloody knuckles like working on other cars. If you are mechanically inclined you can on a Mercedes too and afford to keep it."

Germans built a comfortable MONSTER!

Reviewer Ratings

Overall Rating

10/10

Value

9/10

Reliability

10/10

Quality

9/10

Performance

9/10

Styling

10/10

Comfort

10/10

Likely to recommend this car? (1-10): 9

"M y 320 is ALL of it! Got 18 /245 in the front with 18/285 in the rear with Chrome AMG Rims all i can say is my car is awesome. Its a pleasure to drive. Recently had a guy pull up to me in a 2012 4door Porsche and he was telling me that the 93-98 S class is his all time favorite car. You can imagine how it made me feel about this 16 year old Animal of a vechicle. I can tell you this i will own it forever! 400k club here i come in about 20 years!"

"The body of this car is strong and powerful unlike the body of the cars buit today.. I travel a lot and if you take care of this car it is very reliable. Although this car uses up a lot gas for some reason it is very good on long distance trips. The 1994 Mercedes Benz S 500 has all the comfort and luxury you'll ever need. I love this car especially my car because it has custom bullet proof windows. This is one of the best cars ever built. :+)"

"The first thing you notice about the S class is its size. This car is large and in charge, it demands respect on the road. Most everyone recognizes the car as a symbol of quality and class.
The interior is very roomy and very comfortable. The options and features were ahead of their time. Power seats, windows, sunroof, and even powered rear view mirror!
The inventors of the soft close doors rolled the technology out with this production car. There are many pros to list on this car, lets cover some of the cons.
I have owned 5 different year models of the S class (this body style) and EVERY one of them had the check engine light on. The system is hyper sensitive and the light comes on if the air cleaner is dirty. Having to look it is annoying.
Another con is the window regulators, with windows so heavy and tight fitting, you will have a lot of regulators that go bad. Cheap to buy the parts, and takes a few hours to replace.
Gas mileage is an issue considering how heavy this beast is. It takes a lot to move it but has a very smooth ride."